Hoops Hobby

Autographs of Pacers with Last Name starting with ‘C’ – 4 of 18, 22.2% Complete

Another letter where I have a lot of work to do, but there are some that are attainable as well. A reminder of my hierarchy, and it’s starting to change a bit from what I’ve listed previously.

1. Certified Pacers autographs
2. Non-Certified Pacers autograph that I have personally obtained (in person or TTM)
3. Certified Non-Pacers autographs
4. Non-Certified Non-Pacers autographs that I have personally obtained (in person or TTM)
5. Non-Certified Pacers autographs that I have not personally obtained
6. Non-Certified Non-Pacers autographs that I have not personally obtained

First, the Pacers I do have.

Rakeem Christmas

Christmas shares a rookie year with Myles Turner. I decided to pick up a Next Day auto for Christmas because it’s an on card autograph and a significant set year to year as far as rookie autographs go. I’d like to add the Turner and make it a pair.

Rakeem played 30 NBA games, all for the Pacers. Most recently played professionally in Venezuela.

Darren Collison

Collison has plenty of autographed cards in a Pacers uniform and I like to think I have two of the best. The first from 2010-11 National Treasures, on a Materials Prime card /25. The other from 2010-11 Panini Gold Standard, one of my favorite Panini era sets.

I’d also consider Collison one of my favorite Pacers from the 2010s, having multiple stints with the team, one as the team was ramping back up to being a perennial playoff team.

Chris Copeland

Copeland was a fan favorite while with the team. I certainly enjoyed his sweet 3 point stroke. Copeland came into the league as a 28 year old rookie with the Knicks in 2012. I was definitely pleased when he came over and always wanted more minutes for him. Can you tell I’m still a fan now?

Lots of Pacers certified autographs for Copeland, but I wanted an on-card autograph, and I’ve always been a fan of Crown Royale, the brand, the die-cut designs, and even though there’s a blue parallel, none were available, so I pulled the trigger on this 2013-14 Preferred Crown Royale Red numbered out of 75. Sharp looking card.

Austin Croshere

Croshere was a huge part of the Pacers 2000 playoff run, and he’s become one of my main PC players over the last few years. He’s in a lot of sets from the late 90s and early 2000s, a sweet spot of collecting years for me. I’ve also been collecting his rookie year cards and adding them to a binder, so I am on a search for his 1997-98 Autographics card.

2000-01 SP Authentic Sign of the Times is my opinion one of the better looking Sign of the Times sets, ranking 2nd behind 1998-99. I actually have 2 copies of this card. Pretty sure I picked one up at a card show for cheap years ago when I had already traded for a copy. It’s a nice looking card though, and several other Pacers are in the set as well. My other preferred Pacers certified auto would be the 2000-01 Autographics On Location, which is also on my want list.

Certified Pacers Autographs (1)

Torrey Craig – A Pacer for a fairly short time, actually played a decent role for the Suns this past season after being traded for Jalen Smith the prior season. As far as certified Pacers autos, he’s featured in a Pacers uniform in 2021-22 Select. Most others are Nuggets autos.

Certified Non-Pacers Autographs (1)

Ahmad Caver – Played in one game for the Pacers during the 2021-22 season while on a 10-day contract. A four year player for Old Dominion, Caver appears in a G-League box set, which has an autographed version, which I imagine shows up pretty rarely.

Phil Chenier – Played for Washington for nearly all of his career before playing for the Pacers and Golden State at the tail end. For me, I recognize him as part of the broadcast team for the Washington Wizards, where he was the color commentator for many years. He has a Voices of the Game autograph from 2014-15 which I will look to add at some point. He has other certified autograph cards as well, but that one would mean the most to me.

Steve Chubin – Came into the ABA with the Anaheim Amigos in 1967, and played for the Pacers during the 1968-69 and 1969-70 seasons. Appeared in a Lanasports ABA product in 2020, but I’m unsure how many autographs exist from this product.

Michael Curry – Curry played for the Pacers in the final year of his NBA career, and the brawl season for the Pacers, signing in December 2004, appearing in 18 games, starting 7.

Curry has certified autographs in Raptors and Pistons jerseys. 2003-04 Topps Matrix is the most interesting set to me, but more recent Pistons autographs from Panini sets have more eye appeal, particularly his autograph from 2013-14 Panini Innovation. Any can be had for a reasonable price.

Players with Pacers Cards

Butch Carter- Has a fantastic 1983-84 Star card with the Pacers. The following year Star card is with the Knicks.

Carter coached following his NBA career, first in High School, then an assistant in the college ranks. He then moved to the NBA as an assistant for the Bucks and Raptors before being named interim head coach of the Raptors during the 1997-98 season.

Leroy Combs – Mr. Combs appears in the 1983-84 Star set, one of only 2 cards for him. He averaged 4.5 points for the Pacers during the 1983-84 season.

Players with Cards, Not Pacers

Adrian Caldwell – Played the 1995-96 season with the Pacers, appearing in 51 games, with one start, started the season as a rotation player off the bench and playing time lowered as the season went on.

No Pacers cards but appears in 91-92 Skybox as a member of the Rockets and 96-97 Topps with the Nets. 91-92 Skybox would be a nice card to have signed.

Corky Calhoun – Finished his NBA career with the Pacers in 1978-79 and 1979-80, but only has cards with the Blazers, Suns, and Lakers, my favorite of which is the 1976-77 Topps.

Larry Cannon – Larry was All-ABA 2nd team with Denver for the 1970-71 season, averaging over 26 points a game. A medical condition cut his professional basketball career short. Seems like a big what-if in ABA history.

His only cards in are 1971-72 Topps, and his Denver Rockets rookie card is fantastic and would be a great one to have signed.

Lester Conner – Extensive playing and coaching career. Played over 30 minutes per game in multiple seasons, including with the Nets during the 1988-89 season where he averaged over 10 points and 7 assists per game. Played for the Pacers during the 1993-94 season and coached for multiple years with the Pacers under Jim O’Brien.

Has plenty of NBA cards, just none with the Pacers.

No Basketball Cards

Bob Carrington – Bob ‘Smooth’, as he signed an autograph in a Boston College media guide I found on eBay, was traded from the Nets to the Pacers during the 1977-78 season, and played 35 games for the Pacers post-trade, averaging just over 7 points per game at guard.

Ron Carter – A VMI product and a 2018 inductee into the SoCon basketball hall of fame, Carter played for the Lakers and Pacers between 1978-80.

Wayne Chapman – The father of former NBA player Rex Chapman, Wayne appeared in 29 games for the Pacers during the 1970-71 and 1971-72 seasons.

Letter B Update:

I picked up certified autographs of Oshae Brissett, now a member of the Boston Celtics, and Primoz Brezec, former expansion pick of the Charlotte Bobcats. That makes 8/35 (22.9%), up from 6/34 (17.6%) from when I wrote the post around a year ago. Kendall Brown played in 6 games in 2023 and was added to the list.